I am what I am

Maggie O’Farrell, 35, is an Irish-born novelist. Her latest book is The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. She lives in Edinburgh with her husband and their young son

- I spent a year in a wheelchair as a child, and they said I would never walk again. Now I like taking risks. It makes you see things afresh - it's like wearing new glasses. I hate being in a rut.

- I'm interested in unconventional women who refuse to fit in to the domestic role that society has set out for us. But people want safety, and conformity brings that.

- As a mother, you develop a twin personality. There is both a nurturing instinct and a tigress urge to be fiercely protective. I would fight to the death for my child.

- If we could break free from gender inequality, the feminist battle would have been won by now. Men are physically stronger; women bear the children, and they will always prioritise them. That will always put us on the back foot.